Apparatus for crimping wire-mesh reenforcement



Nov. 23 1926.

T. R. VINZENT APPARATUS FOR CRIMPING WIRE MESH REENFORCEMBNT Filed June 15 1925 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 23, 1926.

i ems series.

APPARATUSFCR CRIMPING- WIRE-Irl'ESH BEENFC'RCEMENT.

Application filed June 15, 1925. Serial No. 37.212.

This invention relates to apparatus for crimping an improved wire screen mesh reenforcement. It is Well known that wire screen mesh has been commonly used 011 walls to form a plaster key or bond. This mesh is prepared by being crimped laterally to form a portion of the same into a plurality of ribs extending laterally to one side of the plane of the mesh. When the mesh applied to a wall, these ribs rest against the wall and space the mesh there from. Heretofore, these ribs have been torn'ied in the mesh entirely thereacross. When this mesh has been placed on the wall and stretched thereover to 5%);1116 the same firmly in place, the stretch has partially pulled these ribs back into the plane oi the mesh with a result that the mesh is improperly spaced from the wall. it is one object of my invention .to provide an improved mesh with ribs formed therein in interrupted relation whereby a portion of the screen of such ribs is left in the plane of the screen to withstand the stretch without effecting the ribs.

The method of so crimping the ribs in the screen that the stretching thereof will not tend to distort the ribs is another object of my invention. I accomplish this object by forming the ribs while holding the screen taut whereby the screen wit-h the ribs formed therein is of the same length as it was before being crimped.

It has been found that wire mesh reeni orcement has given considerable trouble by rusting at the crimped portions thereof. This is caused by the breaking of the galvanizing coating from the wire by the crimping operation. It is another object of my invention to avoid this objection which I do by galvanizing or otherwise coating the wire after crimping the same.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown certain specific embodiments of my invention, but it will be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawing is not be construed as defining or limiting the scope or the invention, the claims appended to this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

in the drawing- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wall having a portion of my improved wire screen reenforcement mounted thereon, and Fig.

2 a diagrammatic view illustrating my wood lath i.. terior finish, but metal lath of one form or other is usually required where exterior surfaces are to be plastered. A great variety of metal lath is used, but the most common form is a wire mesh such as employed for iencin chicken yards and the like. This wire mesh must be spaced from the exterior surlace or sheathing to form a key or bond for the plaster, and furring strips must, therefore, be interposed between the wire mesh and the sheathing, or special nails having shoulders or like devices must be employed. These features are objectionable, as they require time and lab-or and thereby increase expense.

Referring particularly to Fig. l of the drawing, 1 indicates a portion of my improved wire mesh reenforcement which, as illustrated, may be the ordinary or well known chicken screen wire. Formed from certain of the woven portions 2 of this screen are a plurality of integral space ribs 3, each rib comprising a series of integral lugs or projections bent laterally out of the plane of the screen. These ribs are interrupted in the sense that the same do not extend continuously across the screen in the manner heretofore known. As indicated in the drawing, several of the twisted por tions 2 may be bent laterally out of the plane of the screen in a manner to form a rib 3 and the portions 2 between this rib and the adjacent rib are left in the plane of the screen.

The screen is also preferably crimped in the manner indicated in Fig. 2 wherein the wire is held taut during the crimping operation. As thus formed, the wire screen is not shortened by the crimping operation but the interstices adjacent opposite sides of the ribs 3 remain the same distance apart as before being crimped. By such construction the twisted portions 2 of the wire between the ribs and in the plane of the screen serve to take the stretching strain of the wire and prevent the same from drawing the ribs back into the plane of the screen.

In Fig. 2, 4 indicates a roll of wire screen to be crimped and 5 a roll of the wire which has been crimped. The wire is adapted to pass from the roll at through a pair of feed rollers 6, thence between a pair of crimping members 7 over a pair of rolls 8 and 9, downwardly around a roller 10 dipping in to a bath ll of coating material, and thence over a roller 12 to the roll 5. It will be .understood that the feed rollers 6 and crimping members 7 are operated in timed relation whereby the crimping members function to crimp ribs 3 into the wire at definitely. spaced intervals.

The diameter of the crimping members 7 is slightly greater than the diameter of the of the feed rollers 6 whereby, in the crimping operation, the wire between the rollers (5 and members 7 is stretched sufiiciently to form the ribs 3. The ribs are, therefore, formed in the wire while the same is held under a strain which results in forming the ribs without any shortening of the screen. Any stretching of wire which may be necessary to l'orm the rib is done by stretching the screen between the members 7 and rollers 6 and the twisted portions 2 being crimped. The mesh when so formed does not tend to draw the crimps back into the plane of the mesh when stretching the same on a wall in use, and the crimped roll of mesh is no shorter than the original roll. This latter result is particularly valuable to the manutacturer, since mesh as crimped by present methods is considerably shortened, whereby the crimped roll of mesh is shorter than the original roll. The bathi 11 may be galvanized zinc or any other liquid material to form a rust resisting coating. As has been stated, this operation recoats the screen in a manner preventing rusting of the same where the galvanizing coating has been broken by the crimping operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for crimping wire mesh, comprising the combination or a pair of rollers for engaging opposite sides of the mesh to feed and hold the same, and a pair of rotary crimping members spaced from the rollers and adapted to engage opposite sides of the mesh and including means cooperating with the rollers to automatically stretch and elongate the mesh between the rollers and crimping members during each crimping operation.

An apparatus for crimping wire mesh, comprising the combination of a pair of rollers for engaging opposite sides of the mesh to feed and hold the same, and a pair of rotary crimping members spaced from the rollers and adapted to engage opposite sides of? the mesh the radius of the crimpin members bein greater than the radius oi the rollers, whereby the mesh between the rollers and crimping members is automaticallystretched tighter during each crimping operation.

THEODORE R. VINZENT. 

